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What is OSC? I installed this application, akaRemote.app, onto my iPod touch (with Wifi capabilities), which says it's a controller for sending and recieving OSC signals to the iPod.


You can send pre-deined OSC messages from iPhone to Max/MSP and from Max/MSP to iPhone.

So, my question is: What is OSC? Does it involve sound? If so, can I use it in Ubuntu Linux, and what software supports OSC?

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  • Latest Post Latest Post by UrbanKhoja

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As hinted, OSC is a networked control protocol used by music and multimedia apps. It does not carry audio itself — it sends typed control messages (address patterns like /pad/1 plus numbers, floats or strings). That makes it ideal for telling a program "trigger pad 3" or "set filter to 0.7" from a phone or tablet over WiFi.

Yes — you can do this on Ubuntu. Two practical approaches work well for 's pad/sequencer use case:

  • Use a graphical patcher that speaks OSC and plays samples directly (Pure Data is the usual starting point on Linux). Build a patch that listens on the UDP port your iPod app sends to, map incoming address patterns to sample players, and trigger playback from those messages.
  • Use an OSC-to-MIDI bridge (either a small Pd patch or a dedicated utility) to convert OSC messages into ALSA/JACK MIDI. That lets you control existing MIDI samplers/drum apps (Hydrogen, Qsynth/fluidsynth, JACK-hosted samplers) using the touch interface.

Quick setup checklist:

  • Put the iPod and the Ubuntu box on the same WiFi (no client isolation) and note the PC IP and UDP port the controller app uses.
  • Run your OSC receiver (Pd, SuperCollider, etc.) and listen on that port.
  • Map OSC addresses to sample triggers or MIDI note numbers, then route audio/MIDI via ALSA or JACK to the sampler.
  • If messages don’t arrive, check the firewall, verify addresses with a packet sniffer (tcpdump/Wireshark), and confirm the app uses UDP on the configured port.

Notes: native GUI pad/sequencers with built-in OSC on Linux are relatively rare; bridging to MIDI is the common, reliable workflow. Starting with a simple Pd receiver to validate messages is the fastest way to prove connectivity before wiring complex sequencing or sample banks.

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I believe OSC is a program called open sound control.

http://opensoundcontrol.org/

Hope this helps,

Dazza :cool:

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Thanks for the site! :)

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Let's unsolve this, as I have another question.

Is there a graphical application available for Linux so that I can use OSC signals to generate sampled sounds? ie: Use the "Pad" category to control samples in a drum pad, the sequencer to sequence samples, etc.

Member Avatar for UrbanKhoja

Sorry dude I'm not your guy for Linux lol
Not to worry though as there's plenty here who are! lol

Dazza :cool:

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Alright, thanks man.

Now, anyone else who can help me here?

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haha

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